Dimambro, 26, appeared in Romeo district court Thursday for a brief, pre-exam conference in which attorneys reviewed scheduling and the turnover of police and medical reports to the defense. Judge Denis LeDuc scheduled another preliminary hearing for Oct. 21 and said he hopes testimony could begin around mid-November to determine whether Dimambro should stand trial.

Until then, Dimambro is expected to undergo a mental evaluation at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ypsilanti. While no date has been set for that examination, its purpose is twofold: to determine whether he understands the charges against him and can assist in his own legal defense, and whether he was culpable for his alleged actions toward Damian.

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“My belief is he’ll be found competent. He seems to understand the proceedings,” defense attorney Randy Rodnick said outside the courtroom. But he added, “I don’t know what state he was in at the time of the incident.”

Dimambro faces charges of felony murder and first-degree child abuse in the death of Damian. Dimambro was the boyfriend of the 2-year-old’s mother, Nicole Sutton, and baby-sat him on Aug. 21. Police said Dimambro dialed 911 and told a Macomb County Sheriff’s dispatcher that Damian was unresponsive and having difficulty breathing. Police said he later admitted that he shook the boy.

Damian died six days later. An autopsy determined that he died of blunt force trauma to the head, officials said.

Rodnick said that of the more than 900 pages of police and medical records provided to him in the case, more than 730 pages are from Children’s Hospital in Detroit.

Damian’s father, Tim Sutton, watched Thursday’s court proceeding while wearing a T-shirt with his son’s picture on it. He was accompanied by his stepmother, Katrina Gillespie, and his girlfriend, Amber Gibbs.

Outside LeDuc’s courtroom, Sutton said he’s having increasing difficulty coping with his son’s death and the circumstances that surrounded it.

“It’s getting harder. Now it’s more like the frustration and everything, or just laying up in bed at night and it brings up a lot more memories of everything,” he said. “It’s more of an anger type deal now. It’s a lot of frustration, especially on the nights before court, keep me up a lot, thinking.”

Still, Sutton said is he comforted by prayers and thoughts of family and friends.